SERMON: Two Ways of Thinking (John 8:21–30)
Two Ways of Thinking (John 8:21–30)
Series: “John:
Life in Christ’s Name” Text:
John
8:21–30
By: Shaun
Marksbury Date:
Aug.
27, 2023
Venue: Living
Water Baptist Church Occasion:
AM Service
I.
Introduction
Today, we have satellites
and technology with which we can look down upon the earth. We can use lasers from space to measure the
heights of mountains and the movement of shorelines. We can craft intricate and accurate maps for the
globes that we see adorning classrooms and bookshelves, not to mention what we
can pull up on our phones and computers today.
Yet, incredibly, globes
have been around for thousands of years.
Without our technology, Greek thinkers were able to utilize mathematics,
experiments, and simply observation to determine the shape of our world. They didn’t just determine what coastlines
looked like by sailing ships and drawing them; they could tell that the whole earth
isn’t flat but instead a sphere. They drew
maps onto globes as early as the third century BC.
Those globes were
not nearly as accurate as ours, perhaps with large mistakes, though we don’t
have them anymore to examine. We can see
globes from later in history, some which do have mistakes, though it’s incredible
to consider what they were able to determine without a view from above.
The oldest one we
have actually comes from Christoher Columbus’s time. Remember, kids, in 1492, Columbus sailed the
ocean blue. Folks in Europe at that time
were trading with people in India, but they had to sail south and all the way
around the large continent of Africa to get there. Columbus was determined to be the first to
find a path to India going the other way around the globe.
With calculations for
the circumference of the earth in hand, Columbus asked for money for his voyage. Unfortunately, he had two problems. First, he didn’t know about two whole continents
blocking his path —later called the Americas (no one did). Second, some experts were telling him that his
math was wrong, and that he would run out of supplies long before he reached
India. Undaunted, he eventually won funding
and set sail.
Of course, you know
that story. He eventually landed in islands
now called the West Indies and referred to the natives there as “Indians.” He thought he had found that coveted path to
India. I’ve read that he could not be
convinced of his error, believing it until his dying breath. He was certainly brave, and we have benefited
from him, but he suffered with a limited view.
It’s not as though he had Google Earth to correct him!
We can all get
caught up in what we see in front of us, forgetting our own limited perspective. That is what Jesus is explaining here. It’s not that the Pharisees can’t figure some
things out, but they don’t have the view from above them. Without that, they can’t even always
understand what is in front of them.
Whether it’s Columbus
or the Pharisees or just us, we need God’s overlooking perspective. Without it, out thinking will be bound up with
what’s in front of us in this world; God gives us the view from above. So, let’s consider today which of the two
ways of thinking we’re using by asking four questions: Do you recognize the
time is short? Do you recognize the true
identity of Christ? Do you recognize God’s
testimony? Do you recognize Jesus’s mission? Let’s start with the first of these.
II.
First, do you recognize the time is short (vv.
21–22)?
Then He said again to them, “I go away, and you will seek Me, and will die in your sin;
where I am going, you cannot come.” So the Jews were saying, “Surely He
will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot
come’?”
It’s easy to look
around us and assume that everything will continue as it always has. The Pharisees and many of the Jews did not
realize how short the time was growing for them. Within the next generation, not only will they
have rejected their Messiah and have crucified Him, but they will face a siege by
the Romans which will leave Jerusalem and its temple in ruins. Even worse than that is that many of them will
even face the Roman sword, and after that, the judgement of the God who sent
Jesus to them.
So, Jesus (who
comes from above) warns them. In fact,
He repeated the same warning He gave them back in John 7:33–34, “For a little
while longer I am with you, then I go to Him who sent Me. You will seek Me, and will not find Me; and
where I am, you cannot come.” Now, He
says again, “I go away” or “I am going away” (LSB), “and you will seek Me, and
will die in your sin; where I am going, you cannot come.” This warning is more pointed than the last
one.
This death isn’t the
end of physical life, for we each have an eternal soul. The Lord will judge each of us based on our
works — how often we sin by lying, stealing, reacting out of unjust anger, and the
like. He tells us all sinners have a destiny
“in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death”
(Rev. 21:8). This is the warning Jesus
gives.
He tells them that
they’re in a state of sin. He will
repeat this thought in v. 24, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in
your sins; for unless you believe that I am He,
you will die in your sins.” Because of
who each person is (a sinner), they produce sins.
There is a point at
which God’s grace ends. People heard the
preaching of Noah and thought nothing would change, until God closed the door of
the ark and it started to rain. Similarly,
the gathered people heard Jesus’s warnings and rejected them. At some point, folks realize the error of
their ways, but sometimes, when it is already too late.
Yet, like with
Noah, the Jews here don’t have the higher perspective on how their world is
about to change. They choose to mock
Jesus. In v. 22, they were saying,
“Surely He will not kill Himself, will He, since He says, ‘Where I am going,
you cannot come’?” They lock onto one
part of what He says, don’t understand it, and ignore His clear warning. And since they frame this question in the
original language to expect a negative response, they are asking it to ridicule
His warning.
The Jews were (and
many still are) quite legalistic in their approach to God. They believed they had to perform certain
works to earn their salvation, and they thought that they could sin in such a
bad way that it would forever keep them from going to heaven. It’s true that suicide is a violation of the sixth
commandment, “Thou shalt not kill.”
However, we know that God in Christ can forgive murders, and He forgives
people even if they haven’t confessed every sin to Him. It is an egregious sin that always harms and
changes everyone around it, but only those in Christ have the heavenly
perspective on how God can forgive even that.
Those who are earthly cannot understand God’s grace in Jesus, which
brings us to the next point:
III.
Second, do you recognize the true identity of
Christ (vv. 23–25)?
And He was saying to them, “You are from
below, I am from above; you are of this world, I am not of this world. Therefore I said to you that you will die in
your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.” So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?”
Jesus said to them, “What have I been saying to you from the beginning?
Those having true
understanding from above don’t see that there is something wrong with this
world today. They also see the true
identity of Jesus. Unfortunately, these
Jews respond with a woeful ignorance.
Jesus highlights the
two ways of thinking in these verses. He
says that they (emphasizing the pronoun here) are from “the lower regions” or “from
below.” Jesus is saying is that theirs
is a sinful or worldly way of thinking. As
such, in v. 24, we read, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your
sins.” Those who are from below inherit
the sinful condition of Adam, and we prove it when we sin. We cannot save ourselves, and no one else from
this world can save us. We need someone
from above to enter our condition and deliver us.
This is where Jesus
says He originates. He contrasts them to
where He is from (and He emphasizes the pronoun for Himself) — above, as in, from
heaven. They should already know this
about Him. Jesus already said in John
3:13, “No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the
Son of Man.” John the Baptist also identified
Jesus as above all; he said in John 3:31, “He who comes from above is above
all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who
comes from heaven is above all.” This
points to the preexistence of Christ and His greater perspective, but their
limited, worldly perspective won’t allow them to see Him for who He is.
So, He says, “Y’all
are from this world” while He says He isn’t.
He doesn’t originate from this dark system like we do. He’s from above it all. He’s transcendent.
None of us could
fully comprehend this about Him. We
must have Christ call us out of the world.
“I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they
are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the
world, but to keep them from the evil one.
They are not of the world, even as I am
not of the world” (John 17:14–16). We
are no longer of the world because one who came from above made us new
creatures in Him.
Yet, we have to
believe who Jesus is. That’s how Jesus
concludes v. 24 — “unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
There is no hope for deliverance from our sins except in Jesus Christ. This is why we call Him the Christ, the
Messiah, because He’s the anointed one for this task.
Jesus says
something else interesting here. Nearly
every translation like this one adds the pronoun “He” to “I am,” which is why
it is in italics in some translations. The
translation, “I am He,” is a possible rendering. Yet, one notable exception is the Good News Bible,
which says, “if you do not believe that ‘I Am Who I Am’.” Moreover, the NASB footnote here says, “Most
authorities associate this with Ex 3:14, I
AM WHO I AM.”[1] So, it is also possible to read this “unless
you believe that I AM, you will die in your sins.”
He uses this expression of Himself in
multiple places (e.g., Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8; John 4:26; 13:19). He will make it clear in this chapter. For instance, in v. 28, He says, “When you
lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He [or,
just, “I AM”], and I do nothing
on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” If the Jews weren’t getting suspicious that
this is a claim to deity, they certainly did in v. 58 — “Truly, truly, I say to
you, before Abraham was born, I am;” their response to this final claim is that
“they picked up stones to throw at Him” (v. 59). We’ll talk more about this when we get there,
but from this point on John, He uses the title “Son of God” more for Himself (John
10:36; 11:4, 27; cf. 1:49; 5:25). It’s
obvious that Jesus is saying that His being from above means that He’s deity,
which is what the first three verses of John affirms!
This is what we need to believe, but do His worldly
listeners understand this? Verse 25 says,
“So they were saying to Him, “Who are You?”
They place the emphasis on the pronoun, meaning that there is sharpness
in this question. It’s almost as though
they have blinders and earplugs in so they can’t hear what Jesus is saying or
see what He’s doing. They want it that
way. They are willingly ignorant.
They have already seen and heard all the
evidence, so there’s a bit of exasperation in Jesus’s reply. He says, “What have I been saying to you from
the beginning?” From the announcement of
John the Baptist, Jesus has been ministering in Israel and they have the Word
of God for comparison. They have heard
what Jesus has said and they still don’t know.
Those who are below will never know or fully
embrace the identity of Christ. It
implies that His is the only correct view, the one from above it all. We might be able to stumble through many
parts of our lives, even making some impressive maps in this world, but the
transcendent view shows just how far off we can be. We need a Jesus that can reveal the truth
from above to us, and that leads us to the next point:
IV.
Third, do you recognize God’s testimony (vv. 26–27)?
“I have many things to speak and to judge
concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the
things which I heard from Him, these I speak to the world.” They did not realize that He had been speaking
to them about the Father.
Last time, we
considered the fact that Jesus isn’t here to judge, but that doesn’t mean He
doesn’t judge. He can see where people
are off course. He could outright
condemn them, but that is not His current purpose. He could begin correcting all the ways those
around Him are wrong, but He settles on saying the most important point for
them to know.
This might not be
the clearest response at first glance. He says, “He who sent Me is true.” Of course, we know that God is true, and this
is a common refrain in John (John 3:33; 7:28).
If God is true and He sent Jesus, then the message Jesus speaks is
true. Jesus says that He has indeed
heard from God, and these are the words He speaks to the world. In other words, He gives a true and faithful
revelation (John 12:49; 15:15).
Anyone reading and
believing the Bible would see this.
One might say that the Pharisees knew God’s Word and the people learned
it in synagogue. However, if they applied
any knowledge with belief, then they would have recognized the Father’s
testimony earlier — which is why Jesus said in John 5:37–38, “And the Father
who sent Me, He has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any
time nor seen His form. You do not have
His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent.” They did not recognize God’s testimony!
Consider how deep
their ignorance goes. In v. 27, we read,
“They did not realize that He had been speaking to them about the Father.” Remember that, in v. 19, they even asked, “Where
is Your Father?” They have no clue that Jesus
has been talking to them about God all this time! All of the previous references to the
Father went over their heads. They believe
God exists (so do the demons, James 2:19), but they don’t have any reverence
for Christ, and they couldn’t even conceive that He was speaking of the
Heavenly Father.
They are from below,
from the earth. He is from above,
transcendent. If we cannot accept who Jesus
is and whose testimony He brings, then we will, too, will die in our sins, not
realizing how late the hour is. The only
hope is to listen to Him and understand why He came, bringing us to the final
point today.
V.
Fourth, do you recognize Jesus’s mission (vv. 28–30)?
So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son
of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do
nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.
And He who sent Me is with Me; He
has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.” As He spoke these things, many came to believe
in Him.
Jesus tells them
that there is coming a time when they will lift Him up, but He doesn’t mean in
praise. He previously said He would be
lifted up just like the serpent in the wilderness (John 3:14). He’s referencing His coming death on the cross,
when He’ll draw all men to Himself (John 12:32). It’s at that point that they will realize who
He is, literally “I AM,” just like in v. 24.
The crucifixion
revealed who Jesus was. He fulfilled
Scripture throughout the time of His suffering, paying for the sins of the
people (Isa. 53:10–12), and there were signs accompanying His death. Remember that, even the centurion at the cross
became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!” (Matt.
27:54). It was at that time that Nicodemus
and Joseph of Arimathea revealed themselves as secret disciples by preparing
Jesus’s body for burial. After the
resurrection and the ascension, 3,000 people in Jerusalem came to faith in
Christ on Pentecost (Acts 2:41).
Jesus predicts this
ahead of time. He says that they will
come to realize at this point not only who He is, but that “I do nothing on My
own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me.” This begins to speak of His not only His
words, but also His works. That goes on
into v. 29, where Jesus says, “I always do the things that are pleasing to
Him.” He said His food is to do the
Father’s will (John 4:34), and He does.
That’s why He has
such perfect communion with the Father; He says, “And He who sent Me is with
Me; He has not left Me alone.” Jesus and
the Father are one in essence and in purpose.
He is the Son who is pleasing to the Father, meaning that those of us
who want to be pleasing to God need Jesus!
Understand that Jesus
didn’t just die on the cross for our sins.
He also lived the perfect life with God that we were supposed to, but
failed. He came and fulfilled the righteous
requirements of the Law. Sometimes, you
will feel like you need to prove something to God, maybe get baptized or join
the church or something like that, but Jesus has already performed every work
that the Father requires. Where we have
sinned, missed God’s holy standard, Jesus’s blood on the cross covers those
sins. We are pleasing to God only if we are in
Christ.
We must see that
this is why Jesus came. It’s not just to
teach us to love one another, although He did do that. It wasn’t just to become victorious over the forces
of darkness, although He did that. He
came to live the life we couldn’t and pay the penalty we owe. This was the reason He came, and we would do
well to take our eyes off the world and place them above.
Will people believe
Jesus? We read in v. 30 that they
did. However, we’ve seen people with
superficial faith before, so we’ll have to wait until next week to see the true
nature of their belief. The bigger
question is whether you believe today.
VI.
Conclusion
There are people
who know some of this. It’s easy to flip
through the radio stations or through videos on your phones and find people who
know that the time is short. There are
some people who know that Jesus was more than a man. There are many who profess belief in
God. And, there are folks who recognize
that Jesus died for the sins of the world.
However, not everyone understands all of this or even applies it to
themselves. They may know a lot of
important points compared to others in the world, but they lack that true
heavenly perspective.
If you find you
need that perspective, simply look to Christ and believe what He has said. He will both save you and open your eyes to
His exalted truth!
